Misplaced and Missing Pets – A Lingering Legacy of Japans Disasters

Taeko Nose says she may never forget the image of her two dogs – "her children" as she calls them – tied up on a leash as she was forced to leave her home during Japans nuclear crisis. Certainly three months afterwards, its still etched in her mind."I was told to get into a bus and leave my children behind," said Taeko Nose, 62, remembering the mandatory evacuation during the nuclear crisis that followed the deadly March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan, killing 15,000 people."I had no choice but to leave them on a leash in a garage. Their faces still traumatize me today," she said in a telephone interview, referring to her dogs Maron and Seri.

One Reply to “Misplaced and Missing Pets – A Lingering Legacy of Japans Disasters”

A pet is often regarded as one of the family. Losing that pet can be just as traumatic as losing any other close family member.

I wish some people here on Madeira Island would read this post. Here, some people who have sick pets, and cannot afford vet bills, take their animals up the mountains or to the coast and just abandon them. If only they could appreciate how precious a pet was.

Unfortunately, on the coastal grassland, in the hotel district of Funchal, many stray cats live abandoned. The authorities have even put on signs asking residents and visiting tourists alike to leave food and water for them. Such a sad sight!